Descriptions

Underground temperatures contain a record of past
changes in the energy balance at the Earth’s surface, such
that borehole temperature data can be used to reconstruct
long-term trends of ground surface temperature (GST)
changes. In addition to surface air temperature, however,
GST is the response of the ground to other near surface
processes that govern the surface energy balance. In order to
compare GST histories constructed from geothermal data
with surface air temperature (SAT) data, it is necessary to
ascertain the relationship between these quantities. Here we
jointly interpret four borehole temperature logs within a
small area and SAT records from a nearby station. The
subsurface temperature anomalies are consistent with the
SAT data even in the presence of a variable snow regime,
and different surface conditions. Our results indicate that
borehole records are robust long-term paleoclimatological
indicators.